The present invention relates to the field of treatment of patients who have been afflicted with acute renal failure.
Acute renal failure or a rapid deterioration of the renal function is a common disturbance during which the kidneys"" filtering capacity is lost and, as a result, a rapid accumulation of waste material, mainly nitrogenous products, occurs in the body. One of the most common causes for such renal failure is due to the reduction or interruption of the blood supply to the kidneys. Such reduction or interruption of the blood supply to the kidneys could be generally described as renal ischemia.
There are multiple medical conditions that could cause the interruption of the renal circulation. Depending on the duration of an interruption, the outcome of an acute renal failure can be quite devastating. Every cardiovascular event associated with hypotension has a potential of causing a reduction in renal vascular supply. Other conditions, such as gastrointestinal hemorrage, extensive burn, trauma, surgery or anesthesia may also cause hypovolemia, i.e. a low blood volume. Hypovolemia may lead to a dramatic reduction in the blood circulating to the kidneys which may lead to a rapid deterioration in renal function.
The outcome of an acute renal failure is quite grim, especially for patients with trauma as well as patients of advanced age with serious underlying illnesses. Many patients, even after the initial recovery from an acute renal failure, remain with a substantial loss of the filtering capacity of the kidneys, and often thereafter require hemodialysis. Presently, the treatment of acute renal failures is limited to the management of the fluid and the electrolyte complications. Patients affected by an acute renal failure are thus left with no meaningful treatments to restore the function of the damaged renal tissues.
The invention described herein is a novel method of treating and reversing the damages associated with acute renal failures. The method according to the present invention comprises the administration of a therapeutically effective dose of N-acetycysteine, a drug having a previously unknown property to reverse damages caused by acute renal failures.
N-acetylcysteis the N-acetyl derivative of L-cystein. The empirical formula of N-acetylcysteinen is C5H9NO5S and its molecular weight is 163.191. Its structural formula is: 
N-acetycysteine is known to have a potent antioxidant activity and has been primarily used in the treatment of acetylaminophen (Tylenol) overdose toxicity. Its mucolytic property has been frequently used in the treatment of bronchitis and other respiratory conditions.
Use of N-acetycysteine in the treatment of damages caused by acute renal failures has been previously unknown. According to the present invention, administering a therapeutically effective amount of N-acetycysteine to patients can treat and reverse the renal and associated functional damages that are caused by the interruption of the blood supply to the kidney tissues.
The effective amount of N-acetycysteine according to the present invention is not limited to the dosages described in the clinical case reports herein, but may range from the daily dosage of 10 mg to 150 mg per kg of body weight, and 200 mg to 2400 mg per day depending on other factors such as the severity of the damage and the general physical conditions of a particular patient. The preferred dosage is about 20 mg per kg body weight, and about 600 mg to 1200 mg per day. The drug may be a solution of N-acetycysteine, which currently exists in ten and twenty percent solutions. Additionally, the drug may be prepared and administered in other forms including, without limitation, as a tablet, power, capsule, and injection.